Fiesta MPV champions safety cause

Ford’s B-Max, previewed at the recent Geneva auto show, will be fitted with a range of innovative safety technology in a first for a compact Ford.

The B-Max is based on the Fiesta platform and will be the first small Ford to feature Active City Stop to help avoid rear-ending stationary or slower traffic.

The system, touted as a first in the segment, applies the brakes when the system detects a low-speed collision is imminent. In tests, the system was able to prevent collisions at up to 16km/h and reduce the severity of impacts at as much as 30km/h.

SOFTENS THE BLOW

Roland Schaefer, a safety analyst at Ford Europe, said: "Low-speed front-to-rear collisions are the most common accidents in urban traffic. They can happen at traffic lights, road junctions, roundabouts - any stop/start driving situation.

You don't have to be travelling fast to be injured. Even at 16km/h you can suffer a soft-tissue neck injury."